GUILLERMO DEL TORO
Date of Birth: October 9, 1964
Native to Jalisco, Mexico, del Toro grew up in an all-male Jesuit school. A
fan of the gothic horror genre since childhood, he spent much of his free
time watching Japanese horror films and became inspired by a number of
directors including Bunuel, Hitchcock, Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, Renoir,
and David Lynch.
Guillermo learned the art of film by studying script writing with Jaime
Humberto Hermosillo and special effects and makeup with legendary SFX artist
Dick Smith. During his studies he started to film a number of his own short
films including Doña Lupe and Geometria, both of which were selected for a
dozen International Film Festivals.
In 1986 he wrote and directed three episodes for the series Hora Marcada. He
spent much of the latter '80s working on films as a make-up artist. His
expertise in make-up led to the creation of his own company, Necropia, in
which he spent the '90s supervising special effects make-up for several
films.
In 1993 he returned to directing and writing and released Cronos (1993).
The horror film earned awards all over the globe, including seven Silver
Ariels at the Mexican Academy Awards. He followed up Cronos with another
horror film, Mimic (1997), which was neither as impressive as his
first feature, nor was it as well received by either critics or viewers.
At the start of the 21st century, he started working with his other love -
comic books. He directed Blade 2 (2002) based on the popular Marvel
comic series, followed by Hellboy (2004), based on a comic book of the same name,
and one of Del Toro's personal favorites.
In 2007, he received his first Oscar nomination, for writing the screenplay for Pan's Labyrinth (2006), a disturbing film set in 1944 fascist Spain. Del Toro is a founding member of the Film Studies Center and the Muestra del
Cine Mexicano (Mexican Film Festival) in his hometown and has taught and
headed film workshops since the age of 15. He has also served as a juror on
the selection committee of the Mexican Film Institute, Sundance Institute
and the Spirit Awards.
Filmography (director):
The Hobbit 2 (2012)
The Hobbit (2011)
Doctor Strange (2010)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Hellboy (2004)
Blade II (2002)
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
Mimic (1997)
Cronos (1993)